


I Will Be Your Remedy

by CanaryWarrior



Category: MacGyver (TV 2016)
Genre: Angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-21
Updated: 2020-04-26
Packaged: 2021-03-02 00:08:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,771
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23765899
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CanaryWarrior/pseuds/CanaryWarrior
Summary: Mac decides to give into his dark side and join Codex. However, he wants a certain hacker to go with him.Title from Adele’s ‘Remedy’
Relationships: Riley Davis & Angus MacGyver (MacGyver TV 2016), Riley Davis/Angus MacGyver (MacGyver TV 2016)
Comments: 10
Kudos: 107





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So, this idea came to me at 2 AM when I was trying to fall asleep. I decided to name this after Adele’s song ‘Remedy’ because I think it describes Riley’s feelings about Mac. Hope you enjoy it!

Mac unlocked his door and walked inside, locking the door behind him. “Hey, Riles, are you home?” Mac called out, completely aware of the fluttering in his heart. He’s asked that dozens of times ever since Riley moved in with him, but now that his feelings were clear, he found that he liked how domestic that sounded. Two weeks ago, he and Desi had a mutual, amicable break up after deciding they were better off as friends. Desi adjusted to friendship mode immediately, teasing him about his very obvious feelings for the brunette hacker and encouraging him to take the chance. “You two deserve to be happy,” Desi had said. “But remember, if you hurt her, I will not hesitate to kick your ass.” Mac nodded seriously and said that he could never hurt Riley.

And he meant it, Mac couldn’t even imagine hurting Riley. But then he started considering Codex’s mission. Ever since he took that drug and was stuck in a twenties-inspired version of his mind where he encountered his departed mother and a manifestation of his darker subconscious, he thought more and more about Codex. He knew that he sent Lasky to his death to save the rest of L.A, and how was that any different from Codex’s plan? Mac wanted to save the planet, and maybe Codex has a point. If they do nothing, the planet will die, and everyone will eventually perish. With Codex’s plan, less people will die in the long run. Maybe his fedora-wearing dark side had a point. Codex was doing the logical and moral thing.

So, Mac decided to draw Codex out. It worked, and a few of Codex’s agents found him. He told them to tell Gwen that he was in. She contacted him later that day, understandably suspicious, but she believed him when he said he wants to save the planet. She wanted him to come in immediately, but Mac had asked for extra time, which she surprisingly granted him. Mac had no doubt it was because he was related to her.

Now, Mac was standing in his home, waiting for the woman he fell in love with over the course of four years.

“Hey, Mac!” Riley greeted with a bright smile. She was wearing sweatpants with a tank top and hoodie, her long hair down. Mac thought she looked beautiful. “Where did you go? I thought you would be messing with the toaster again,” she teased.

Mac took a breath. “I… I went to talk to my aunt.”

Riley’s eyes widened. “Your leader-of-Codex aunt?”

“That’s the one,” Mac answered, shifting his feet.

“Why?” Riley asked. Why would Mac talk to her? After what happened to Oversight? Why would Gwen let him go if she had him in her clutches?

Mac knew there was no point in beating around the bush especially with Riley. She deserved the truth. “Because I decided to join Codex.”

Riley was shocked. Why would Mac join Codex? He was obsessed about saving everyone. He seemed so determined to take Codex down. Then, the more rational part of her took over. Is he going undercover? “Are you going undercover? Is this a mission?” Of course Mac had to be going undercover. It was the logical course of action.

Mac shook his head and felt his heart drop a bit. “No, Riles, I’m not going undercover. I’m really joining them.”

Riley stared at the blonde genius. She felt shock, betrayed, confused, hurt, and so many other things. “Why… How, how could you?” The hacker exclaimed.

Mac put his hands up in front of him, showing that he wants to explain. Riley, who was thankfully great at reading him, remained quiet and waited. “Riles,” he began. Was he even worthy of calling her by that nickname? He saw the hurt in her eyes, and he hated that he was the one who caused it. “The planet is dying, you know that. At this rate, it will die and everyone will perish.”

“And how many people will die if you help Codex?” Riley demanded. “A quarter of the population will be killed, Mac.”

“And how many will die in the future? With all of the rapid population growth? It’s the logical solution, Riley!”

“The logical solution is to join the people who killed your father?” Riley asked quietly. She knew that she shouldn’t have brought James up, but she had to snap Mac out of this. She had to convince him that he’s making a huge mistake.

Mac was caught off guard by her question. He didn’t expect Riley to bring up his father, but he wasn’t surprised. “This is bigger than me and my father. We’re talking about the fate of the planet.”

Riley turned away and thought about when Mac could have started thinking like this. He did act weird after he took a drug induced trip inside his own head to remember Tesla’s clue, but Riley wrote that off as Mac recovering from a very new psychological experiment and grieving for his father. When she asked him about what happened, he acted weird, for lack of a better term. What did he see in there?

Mac felt as if someone had tugged his heart when Riley turned away from him. She didn’t move for two minutes and seemed lost in thought. “Riley,” he said softly. “Are you okay?” He asked, concerned. 

Riley turned back around. “What happened? When you went inside your own head, what happened? And how did that change you?” She almost smirked at Mac’s surprised expression. Everyone knew that Riley was great with a computer, but sometimes they forgot that she’s more observant than she lets on.

Riley deserved the truth, so that’s what Mac told her. He told her about seeing Lasky, another version of himself, and his mother. He told her about the conversations he had with them.

Riley took Mac’s hand. “Mac,” she said softly. “That was just in your head.”

Mac held Riley’s hand as if it were a lifeline. “It was my subconscious. I already thought about everything they said to me about Codex, I just tried so hard to push those thoughts away. But deep down I considered joining Codex ever since Gwen first explained everything when she kidnapped me, my dad, and Mason. I knew that Gwen was right. I just didn’t want to admit it.”

“I thought you wanted to save everyone,” Riley tried.

“We can’t save everyone, Riles,” the nickname slipped out. “I couldn’t save Lasky-”

Riley cut Mac off. “What happened to Lasky wasn’t your fault. Don’t blame yourself. If you wanna blame someone, blame me. I’m the one who wrote Nemesis, everything that happened that day was my fault.”

“No,” Mac insisted. “Nothing was your fault. You didn’t hurt anyone.”

Riley knew it was pointless to argue with Mac about that night. “But millions will get hurt if Codex wins.”

“And billions more will be able to live on a better planet. Riley, I know what you’re thinking, but I’ve thought this through. I’m joining them.”

“And you’re leaving the Phoenix.” Riley stated. Mac’s eyes were filled with emotion at the mention of the agency he worked for over the course of years. She knew better than to press him on the agency itself. “Did you tell them? Bozer? Desi? Matty, Russ?”

Mac let go of Riley’s hand. “No, I didn’t,” he said quietly.

“Why not?”

Because he was too scared to. He didn’t want to see their hurt and betrayed reactions. “I knew it would hurt them… I was too scared to…”

“You didn’t tell them because you knew it would hurt them, but you are fine with hurting me?” Riley asked, feeling cracks forming in her heart.

“No, no!” Mac shook his head. He didn’t want to hurt her, he wanted her to come with him. “I want you to come with me.”

Riley looked at Mac as if he grew another head. “What… Why would I?”

“Because I love you!” Mac confessed, unable to keep it in.

Riley refused to get her hopes up. Yes, she did have feelings for Mac, hell, she was sure she was in love with him, but she didn’t have any expectations about it, especially since he dated Desi. “I know, you love all your friends-" 

“I didn’t mean it like that, Riles,” Mac said softly. “I’m in love with you.” At Riley’s shocked expression, Mac rushed “I’m not expecting anything, Riles. I know you’re going through a lot, especially with your break up with Aubrey. I just had to tell you. I don’t want to be away from you, but I know how you feel about Codex. I understand if you say no. Honestly, I wouldn’t be surprised if you did say no, but I wanted to take a chance.” Mac looked at one of his best friends with guarded hope in his eyes.

Riley was certainly not expecting any of this to happen when she got out of bed. She couldn’t believe that Mac felt the same way about her and that he wanted her to join Codex with him. “If I asked you to stay, would you?” Riley asked softly.

Mac looked down and closed his eyes for two seconds. He wanted to stay with Riley and their friends, he truly did. They were his family. But Gwen was also his family, and she wanted to save the planet. Mac had to help save the planet, otherwise billions will die in the long run. “I’m sorry, Riley. I want to, but the world needs to be saved.”

Riley was disappointed that Mac was still determined to join Codex. There was nothing she could do or say to change his mind at the moment. But maybe if she went with him, she can? Riley knew that Mac was engaged with an ongoing battle with his dark side (if she can even call it that). She knew he was going through a lot and she definitely knew that if Mac had his mind set on something, he wouldn’t budge. Codex was going to cause destruction, and with Mac’s help, that destruction will be sooner than later. He would never forgive himself for the part he played in killing millions. If Jack were here, he would be able to save Mac from himself and bring him to the side of good (all while making Star Wars references, Riley mused). But Jack wasn’t here, so it was up to Riley to save the man she loved.

“Riley,” Mac said slowly. “Please say something,” he begged softly.

“I’m in love with you too, Mac,” Riley confessed. She watched Mac’s eyes light up in a way she hadn’t seen in a long time. He even smiled for the first time in a while. God, how could someone like that want to contribute to worldwide destruction? Mac was just lost, something Riley had plenty of experience with herself. “I want to be with you. So…” Riley took a breath. “I’ll go with you.”

Mac perked up. He couldn’t believe that Riley felt the same way. She loved him, and she wanted to be with him. “Really?” He asked. Mac didn’t want to get his hopes up.

“Really.” Riley knew that Mac didn’t want to get his hopes up, so to prove that she meant it, she jumped and hugged him. Mac caught her and spun her around. They both laughed, momentarily forgetting that anything else existed. When he put her down, Riley kept her hands around his neck. She leaned in and pressed her lips to his. Mac wrapped his arms around her waist, keeping her close to him, and returned the kiss. Riley finally understood why people said that they felt like they were on cloud nine. After a few seconds, Riley pulled away and saw Mac’s blinding smile. “So what do we do now?”

Mac’s smile fell off his face, and concern filled him. “Riley, are you sure you want to join Codex? I would never force you to do anything.” Mac meant every word. He wanted Riley to be comfortable. He was also terrified that she would regret joining Codex with him, and he would lose her forever.

“Yes, I’m sure,” Riley replied. Mac wrapped his arms tightly around her and Riley reciprocated. 

Riley was going to save Angus Macgyver if it was the last thing she did.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mac finds out that Riley is still with the Phoenix.

“Yeah, that’s all I gathered so far.” Riley spoke into her phone. She was currently at her and Mac’s new apartment, which they got after joining Codex. Well, technically Mac was the one who joined Codex. After Riley left with Mac after his declaration of love, she managed to send a message to her team, explaining everything. Only Bozer, Desi, Russ, and Matty knew the truth, but they still had to keep up the pretense that Riley betrayed the Phoenix with Mac. She was working with them, communicating through a heavily encrypted app that she created herself. Unfortunately, Mac still believed in Codex’s mission.

“Great work, Riley,” Russ said. “And how’s Mac doing?” He asked, concerned. Russ felt betrayed at first, but then he thought about everything that Mac has been through. All the loss, all the pain… no wonder he decided to join his aunt.

Riley sighed. “I think I’m slowly getting through to him.” She looked behind her and saw Mac tinkering with their toaster. He couldn’t hear their conversation, thankfully. Mac caught Riley’s gaze and smiled at her. She returned the smile and felt a pang. How was she going to save Mac from himself? What will he think and feel when he realizes that Riley didn’t actually join Codex for him?

“That’s better than nothing. Keep trying, Riley,” Bozer encouraged her.

“I will, I promise.”

“Get our boy back, Riley. And stay safe. We can’t lose you too,” Matty said, sounding both stern and concerned at the same time. 

“I will. You stay safe too, guys.” Riley heard the rest of the team say goodbye, along with a “Good luck, Riles” from Desi before ending the call. She sighed quietly to herself. 

“Are you okay?” Mac asked, coming up behind his girlfriend. Riley jumped. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you,” he added, apologetically.

Riley smiled. “Yeah, I’m fine.”

“You don’t look fine, Riles, you look worried. Who was that?” Mac asked, curiously. 

“Just my mom,” Riley lied smoothly. It killed her to lie to him, but she didn’t have another choice. 

“You’re a terrible liar, you know,” Mac teased, with a soft smile. But something didn’t seem right. Why would she lie? She knows that she can tell him anything… right? Was he being paranoid, or did it sound like she was talking to Desi? Mac could’ve sworn he heard his ex-girlfriend’s voice.

Riley’s eyes widened. There was no point in denying that she was lying. “How did you…”

“You always say ‘I love you’ to your mom before you hang up,” Mac stated. “And I could’ve sworn that I heard Desi’s voice when I was walking up to you. But I know that’s crazy, you wouldn’t risk anyone tracing your call to find our location.” Mac’s heart clenched. Riley wouldn’t do something like that, right? She joined Codex with him and promised him that she was on his side. Unless she started to regret it? And she’s trying to get back into the Phoenix? Was she going to leave him? Mac was terrified from the start that she would regret her choice.

Riley shook her head. “I wasn’t talking to Desi,” she lied once again, trying to salvage her status as a defected Phoenix agent.

Mac’s heart sank. Riley was lying, he can always tell when she’s lying. “Yes, you were,” he said softly. Why would she do that? Contact the Phoenix behind his back? Was she going to slip out quietly one night, without saying goodbye? Did she regret her choice to be with him. 

“Mac…” Riley spoke softly. “I can explain-“

“Why?” Mac asked, brokenly. “Do you regret it? Regret everything? Were you just going to leave without telling me?” Of course she was going to leave, and it was his fault. He’s the one who asked her to come with him, leaving their friends behind. God, how could he have messed things up? How could he ask her to make that kind of choice? What was he thinking?

“No!” Riley exclaimed, mentally cursing herself for hurting Mac and making him think that. “I wasn’t going to leave you!”

“You could’ve fooled me,” Mac said quietly. He felt betrayed and upset, but above it all, he felt heartbroken. Everyone leaves him in the end, he thought, but he also thought that Riley would be the one to stay. 

“I was talking to them-“

“Them? As in everyone from the Phoenix?” Mac questioned. She really regretted joining Codex. God, why did he even ask her to come with him? If he hadn’t, maybe she wouldn’t have broken his heart. Maybe she wouldn’t have felt so conflicted. He cursed himself, how could he put her in a position where she had to choose? 

“Just Desi, Bozer, Matty, and Russ. Our friends, our family!” Riley said desperately, knowing that she needed to convince the love of her life to come back with her now. It was now or never. “You deserve the truth, Mac. I’m still with them, with Phoenix,” Riley confessed.

Mac blinked. “I thought you said you joined Codex.”

“And I did, just undercover,” Riley confessed.

“You were undercover this entire time?” Did Riley only agree to come with him so she can go undercover? Did she see an opportunity to get inside Codex, and so she took it? Did she even love him? 

“Yes,” Riley said quietly with a small nod. 

“Was everything a lie? Did you pretend to have feelings for me so I could bring you into Codex?” Mac demanded, his voice getting louder. Riley wouldn’t be so cruel, right? She had one of the biggest hearts, but she also wanted to take Codex down.

“No! Mac, I love you! I loved you even when you were dating Desi! My feelings for you were never a lie!” Riley exclaimed. How could Mac think that she didn’t love him? She would never manipulate him like that.

Mac’s breath hitched. “Really?” Riley really did love him?

“Yeah, really.”

“So, you love me, but you’re still with the Phoenix,” Mac observed. Honestly, he was happy that Riley truly did love him, but couldn’t help but wonder what her plan was.

“I never wanted to be a part of Codex, Mac.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I didn’t want you to be alone here, so I came with you,” Riley revealed.

Mac’s expression was calculating. “No, there’s something else. What’s the other reason?”

Riley took a breath. “I wanted to save you. I wanted to bring you back to the light.”

“Save me from what? Bring me back to the light? What are you talking about?” 

“If Codex wins, if they are successful in killing billions, how will you feel?” Riley asked. Mac may think he’s doing the right thing, but if Codex succeeds, she knows that he’ll feel guilty.

Mac opened his mouth to say something, anything, but no words came. If Codex wins, then billions will die, but the planet could be saved. But what about those who survived? They would have lost loved ones, their homes, everything. All of that death and destruction…

Suddenly, everything became clear.

Mac turned away and sank down onto the couch with his head in his hands. “Oh my god.” What was he thinking? He really believed that killing billions would save the world. How did he get so lost? He was so lost in his thoughts that he barely noticed Riley sitting down next to him and putting her arm around him.

“Mac,” she called his name softly. Mac looked up with glassy eyes.

“Riles…” Mac didn’t know what to say. Riley wrapped her arms around him, a gesture that Mac immediately returned. 

“Are you okay?” Riley asked, worried.

Mac broke the hug and looked at Riley’s concerned face. He really loved her. She risked everything to save him from himself. “I don’t know.”

Riley gave him a soft smile. “Well, I’m always going to be here for you, I promise. We’ll get through this together.”

“You stayed with me, the entire time…” Mac said in wonder. How did he get so lucky?

“Of course I did. I would never give up on you, Mac,” Riley assured him. She meant it, she would never, ever give up on him. “I pretended to join Codex to stop you from doing something that you will regret, and to try to bring them down from the inside.”

Mac didn’t deserve Riley, of course,he didn’t. She deserved someone better. “I’m so sorry that I put you through all of this, Riley, I understand if you want to leave me-“

“Angus Macgyver, I am never going to leave you, okay? I’m with you, always, no matter what.” Riley said firmly.

Mac was amazed that he found someone who knew him so well, someone who was willing to risk everything just to help him. “I love you so much.”

Riley smiled. “I love you too.” They shared a quick kiss. 

“I can’t believe how lost I got…” Mac trailed off. He really did go over to the ‘dark side’ for a bit. If Riley hadn’t been there to bring him back… He didn’t even want to think about what would’ve happened.

“Hey, you went through so much in such a short amount of time, Mac. You can’t blame yourself for that. We all get lost sometimes, Mac, but we’ll always be here to help you get through it,” Riley comforted him.

“Thank you, Riley. For everything. I don’t know what I would’ve done if you weren’t here.” If Riley didn’t love him back, if she didn’t come with him… God, what would he have done?

“There’s no point in dwelling in what might have happened, Mac. All we can do is focus on the present,” Riley replied.

“You’re right,” Mac nodded.

“Aren’t I always?”

Mac laughed at that. “You know what? I think you are.” Riley’s laughter was music to his ears. “So what happens now?” Mac asked.

“Well now, I have to call our friends and tell them that we got you back, and then we take Codex down, together,” Riley explained.

Mac agreed with that plan. He’ll take down Codex with his real family, and he will make sure that nothing happens to them.

**Author's Note:**

> I truly believe that if Mac decides to join Codex for real, Riley will be the one to bring him back. I am also intrigued by the new plotline of Mac's 'dark side.' I hope you all enjoyed this story! Thanks for reading!


End file.
